I'm "there" too "61. My system is basically finished (I mean completed), and it is very enjoyable even with mid-fi and some lessor recordings. I see we have some very similar tastes in music, especially Chicago Blues and "ancient" ('50s) rock. I've got some Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry that all get the juices flowing even though we all know the recordings aren't that good.
But awhile ago, I got a Jacintha XRCD2 that absolutely made me melt it was so good, and the pretty high calibre of my system was suddenly all worth it. While I'm not a big jazz fan, I like some New Age, Celtic and Neo-Celtic, and some of it is very well recorded. My Vand. 5s are fairly expensive but they make all the Enigma CDs sound wonderful and IMO are definitely worth the cost for the excellent bass alone. So, yes, my system is better than 90-95% of my recordings, but I definitely put musicality first as I put it together and have no regrets. "Hail Hail Rock and Roll.........." Cheers. Craig
But awhile ago, I got a Jacintha XRCD2 that absolutely made me melt it was so good, and the pretty high calibre of my system was suddenly all worth it. While I'm not a big jazz fan, I like some New Age, Celtic and Neo-Celtic, and some of it is very well recorded. My Vand. 5s are fairly expensive but they make all the Enigma CDs sound wonderful and IMO are definitely worth the cost for the excellent bass alone. So, yes, my system is better than 90-95% of my recordings, but I definitely put musicality first as I put it together and have no regrets. "Hail Hail Rock and Roll.........." Cheers. Craig